Blackberry plant named ‘Zorro’

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a nerw and distinct cultivar of blackberry plant named ‘Zorro’. The new cultivar is distinguished from other blackberry cultivars by its high productivity, early season, and low chill requirement. ‘Zorro’ produces fruit with improved quality and shipping characteristics over a long fruiting period. The new cultivar is distinguished from its seed parent by having better flavored fruit; it is distinguished from its pollen parent by its larger fruit.

LATIN NAME OF THE GENUS AND SPECIES OF THE PLANT CLAIMED

Rubus hybrid

VARIETY DENOMINATION

‘Zorro’.

1. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a new cultivar of blackberry called ‘Zorro’. The new cultivar was developed from hybridization of the unpatented female cultivar ‘By59.2’ with the unpatented male selection ‘B46.1’. The parents were crossed in Spring 1994 whereafter fruit and seed were collected to produce seedlings for field planting in Watsonville, Calif. in 1994. The new cultivar was selected in 1996 for its good flavor and early season of ripening. The cultivar was asexually propagated in Watsonville, Calif., and reproduced true to type plants by in vitro shoot tip culture.

2. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a new and distinct blackberry cultivar named ‘Zorro’. The variety is botanically identified as Rubus L. subgenus Rubus. The variety is a complex Rubus hybrid, which can be characterized as an erect tetraploid with considerable R. allegheniensis background with other species such as R. trivialis, R. argutus and R. ulmifolius also appearing in its background. The new cultivar produces a floricane crop which begins in mid-May and continues until mid-August. The new blackberry variety is distinguished from other varieties by a number of characteristics as set forth in Table 1. In particular, the new cultivar is distinguished by its early season, its low chill requirement, and its improved quality and shipping characteristics. Yield of the new cultivar is high when compared to many other varieties. There have been no observed plant or fruit diseases and no observed pest resistance or susceptibility. The variety has been developed for fresh market shipping use, and has performed well in coast-to-coast shipping tests and held up well after cold storage at 34 degrees Fahrenheit for periods of up to ten days.

3. COMPARISION TO SIMILAR VARIETIES

The variety that we believe to be similar to ‘Zorro’ from those known to us is ‘Olallie’, an unpatented variety. ‘Zorro’ is particularly different from ‘Olallie’ by being slightly later ripening, having less postharvest color reversion, having less acidic flavor, and having better fruit firmness. Further detailed comparison of ‘Zorro’ to ‘Olallie’ and ‘Chester’ is presented in Table 1.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying photographs show typical specimens of the fruit, leaves and shoot of the new cultivar, in color as nearly true as reasonably possible in color illustrations of this type.

FIG. 1 is a photograph showing a primocane shoot, mature leaf and stem of ‘Zorro’.

FIG. 2 is a photograph showing a close-up view of a primocane shoot, mature leaf and stem of ‘Zorro’.

FIG. 3 is a photograph of a ‘Zorro’ fruiting lateral with fruit in various stages of development.

5. DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW VARIETY

The following detailed description of the new blackberry cultivar, ‘Zorro’, is based upon recorded observations of plants on two to five years old grown using commercial growing practices in Watsonville, Calif. and is believed to apply to plants of the ‘Zorro’ cultivar grown in similar conditions of soil and climate elsewhere. Plants were planted on soil previously pre-plant fumigated and regularly fertilized and irrigated with drip irrigation. This description is in accordance with terminology used by the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV). Throughout this specification, color names beginning with a small letter signify that the name of the color, as used in common speech, is aptly descriptive. Color data beginning with a capital letter and followed by an alphanumeric code indicate the most similar color designations as provided by The Royal Horticultural Society (R.H.S.) Colour Chart published by The Royal Horticultural Society of London, England. Color designations, color descriptions, and other phenotypical descriptions may deviate from the stated values and descriptions depending upon variation in environmental, seasonal, climatic and cultural conditions.

5.2 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NEW VARIETY

Table 1 provides information on the plant and fruit characteristics of the new blackberry cultivar ‘Zorro’ compared with characteristics of the blackberry cultivars ‘Olallie’ (non-patented) and ‘Chester’ (non-patented). Both ‘Olallie’ and ‘Chester’ are currently important cultivars for fresh market shipping, and this are comparable to the proposed use of the new invention, ‘Zorro’. Observations of ‘Zorro’ and ‘Olallie’ were taken in side-by-side comparison in 1999 and in 2000.

Fruit of the new cultivar is particularly characterized and distinguished from other cultivars by its improved flavor and shipping characteristics. Drupelets of ‘Zorro’ fruit show slightly less postharvest color reversion compared to ‘Olallie’, the most comparable cultivar fruiting at the same time of the season.

‘Zorro’ is highly productive and produces most of its crop in the early part of the harvest season. The fruit yield of ‘Zorro’ is medium, averaging around 19,400 lbs per acre in comparison to the fruit yield of ‘Olallie’ which averages around 21,000 lbs per acre. Canes of ‘Zorro’ are vigorous, thorny and have buds with a low chill requirement. The bud break of ‘Zorro’ is in late March and usually 1 week before ‘Olallie’. The average cane length for ‘Zorro’ under a normal growing season is 8.5 feet and the average cane length for ‘Chester’ is 9 feet. The primocane color on the exposed side of the cane is 183C and 144A on the shaded side. Floricanes are 146C on the exposed side and 144A on the shaded sided.

The spines or prickles average 5.5 mm in length. Prickle color on the exposed side is 183B and N144B on the shaded side. The leaf has very minor undulations between where the veins are. The leaf surface has small, soft hairs on both the upper and lower leaf surface. The petiole color is 183C. The sepal color is 138B. The petal color is 155C. The pedicel length averages 27 mm under normal condtions.

‘Zorro’ is distinguished from its pollen parent, ‘B46.1’, by having larger fruit. ‘Zorro’ is distinguished from its seed parent, ‘B59.2’, by being thorny and having better flavored fruit.

TABLE 1 PLANT CHARACTERISTICS OF ‘ZORRO’ ‘Zorro’ ‘Olallie’ ‘Chester’ GENERAL Vigor moderate-high moderate-high high Growth habit semi-upright trailing semi-upright Productivity high high high Self fruitfulness yes yes yes Number of young medium medium medium shoots CANES Primocanes Anthocyanin present present present coloration Spines present present absent color green purple — attitude of tip downward horizontal — texture rigid heavy — presence and present; present; absent distribution on irregularly irregularly petioles distributed distributed density in central medium medium — third of shoot Internodal distance 2.5 2.6 3.1 (cm) - central third of mature cane Glaucosity on full absent to very weak weak grown shoot weak Strength of full medium medium strong grown shoot Cane cross section angular to rounded to angular to grooved angular grooved LEAVES Relief between veins weak medium medium Number of leaflets usually 5 usually 3 usually 5 Leaf color medium medium light upper side 137A, 137B 137A, 137B 147A underside 137C, 138A 147B 146A Glossiness of upper medium medium dull surface Leaf cross section concave concave-flat concave Terminal leaflet length (cm) 10.3  8.9 11.1  width (cm) 7.6 7.6 9   shape ovate cordate cordate tip acute acuminate acuminate base acute cordate cordate margin double serrate double serrate double serrate Lateral leaflet overlap of lateral free to overlapping overlapping leaflets touching length (cm) 9.9 8.7 10.2  width (cm) 6.3 6.1 7.1 shape ovate ovate ovate tip acuminate acuminate acute base acute acute acute margin double serrate double serrate serrate Petiole mean length (cm) 8.4 5.3 7.9 range 5.2-10.6 3.6-8.7 3.9-10.2 pigmentation of reddish green - slightly purple upper surface pink pigmentation of green green - slightly green - underside pink pinkish Length of stalklet short very short medium Rachis length (cm, 3.6 2.8 3.1 between terminal and adjacent lateral leaflets) Stipule orientation erect variable; erect clasping to erect FLOWERS Time of bud burst early early late Time of beginning of early early late flowering Flower size medium to small to small to large medium medium Petal size length (mm) 19.1  16.5  18.3  width (mm) 12.4  11.7  10.9  Anthocyanin color absent absent present of pedicel Intensity of — — weak pedicel coloration Length of pedicel medium to long short long Flower number (third 5.8 3.6 2 node from tip of lateral) FRUIT Harvest season early early mid to late Dimensions 4.2 5.2 3.2 weight (g/fruit) size medium medium small length (cm) 2.7 3.3 1.9 width (cm) 2.1 1.4 1.9 Fruiting lateral length medium medium medium - long (in mid cane) Mean number of fruit 7.7 6.2 22.8  per lateral range 5-20 3-9 17-40 Shape ovate to narrow ovate; round to elliptic; much longer ovate; longer than than broad as long as broad broad Color black purple-black black to black immature 184A 178A-183B 184A maturing 187A 187A 200A-202A mature 200A 200A 202A Firmness firm medium firm Glossiness strong medium - medium strong Soluble solids 9.6 9.7 9.9 Titratable acidity 9   13.3  9.9 (% as citric acid) (ml of added .1 N NaOH to pH 8.1) Number of drupelets 85  86.12 40  per fruit

Table 2 provides information on the seed weight of the new blackberry cultivar ‘Zorro’ compared with characteristics of the blackberry cultivars ‘Olallie’ (non-patented) ‘Chester’ (non-patented), ‘Sleeping Beauty’ application Ser. No. 09/772,329), ‘Pecos’ (application Ser. No. 09/772,211) and ‘Sonoma’.

TABLE 2 Cultivar Seed Weight ‘Zorro’ 2.3 mg ‘Olallie’ 2.1 mg ‘Chester’ 3.5 mg ‘Sleeping Beauty’ 4.1 mg ‘Pecos’ 3.5 mg ‘Sonoma’ 3.4 mg

5.2 NUCLEIC ACID FINGERPAINTING

Distinctive patterns of polymorphism can be detected using a variety of nucleic acid analysis methods. In one non-limiting example, molecular genetic maps can be produced using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) (Williams et al., 1990, “DNA polymorphisms amplified by arbitrary primers are useful as genetic markers”, Nucleic Acids Res. 18(22):6531-5). Using a variety of oligonucleotide primers, alone or in combination, RAPD analysis of ‘Zorro’ ‘Chester’, and ‘Olallie’ yielded DNA fragment patterns that uniquely distinguish each of these genetically distinct genotypes. 

We claim:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of blackberry plant, substantially as shown and described. 